On the first day of Christmas my true love bought for me.... a Chriiiiiiiiiiistmas Tree!

For my birthday on Monday, L and I were en route to our fancy dinner plans when we detoured past Prince Postale to see if they had anymore Christmas trees! This is our first real Christmas tree together, so try to imagine my excitement when we picked out the most beautiful and perfect tree! Thanks to our new apartment and our slightly "bigger" (and I use that term loosely) living room, we went for the biggest one he had! They call them North End trees (little 6 footers) because they are grown and cut to accommodate smaller spaces.

I'm a fan of the classic white lights on the tree however L loves the colored lights and eclectic look. This year we decided to go with white lights, silver balls and candy canes! Each year, we go to the Christmas store at Faneuil Hall and pick out a special ornament... last year we picked up a Red Sox ornament in honor of our 2013 World Series Win!

As of now we have two ornaments... our Red Sox, and a beer can. Riveting stuff.
We are slowly but surely building up our ornament collection and will soon have an arsenal of memories hanging up year after year.

I already have several gifts wrapped and modeling underneath the tree and I couldn't be more excited! I've had several people ask me if they're just empty wrapped boxes? Uh no. No one has any Christmas shopping faith in me this soon. 

 This cat is thoroughly enjoying the holiday season! I am forcing it upon her. 

I bought stuff for her stocking and have already given half of it to her already. #fail

21 Days, 13 Hours, 50 minutes until Christmas!!

Have you put your tree up yet?

Gift Ideas for Family & Friends

 

  I'm back again for the 3rd week of this three week series celebrating a few of my favorite things! The first week I shared a few of my favorite things, last week I shared great stocking stuffer ideas... and today I will be sharing fun gifts for family and friends that are under $100!
   Cards Against Humanity

    Wool Throw

    L.L. Bean Boat and Tote Bag 

    Slippers - Men, Women

  NutriBullet

     New England Tees

    Magazine Subscription

    Lottery Tickets

 Happy Shopping! I think I'm down to 5 people who still need shopped for. 

In other news, we bought our Christmas tree yesterday!!! ...and it

is beautiful! More on that later this week!

Recap November Goals

 

  Here's what was supposed to happen this past month!

ONE//

+ Stay true to my push up routine.

I only got to day 12 :(

TWO//

+ Order an extra bureau for the bedroom and get rid of the desk. 

Done and done!

THREE//

+ Do all of my Christmas shopping!

I wanted it all done by December 1st. I'm about 80% done with the shopping, and 45% done with the wrapping... getting there!

FOUR//

+ Save

Eh... still working on that goal! November and December are hard for me... but I'm getting there!

FIVE//

+ Have a wonderful and fun Thanksgiving!

Absolutely! We went to Pittsburgh to celebrate my grandparents 50th anniversary and visit family!

  Check in tomorrow for my December goals!

Thanksgiving

We spent our Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh this year celebrating the 50th year of marriage of my mom's parents, and it was wonderful!  (In August, we celebrated my dad's parents 50th anniversary as well in Bar Harbor!)
We had family from Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, Maine and Massachusetts all gather for a delicious meal, good company, and a great time!
Here's a quick wrap of our weekend with two pictures because apparently I hardly took any. Fail. 
+My family ran a turkey trot Thursday AM, while mom and I dragged our out of shape behinds on a one mile walk (that I barely survived). 
+Dinner was AMAZEballs complete with home made everything. I think it's safe to say that I had the best cheesecake of my life freshly made from the Carolina Cheesecake Company. 
+Friday morning we had some "cousin" pictures taken for my grandparents, and then found ourselves wondering around the hills emptying our wallets. I'm pretty proud to say that I'm about 80% done with Christmas shopping. 
+Saturday we woke up early to begin our 10 hour drive back into Boston.

 Happy faces from our sibling shopping spree! Oh, how I love these three!

If there is one thing you need to know about my family father, it is his spontaneity! You really have to give yourself a day or two before a planned trip to prepare yourself for his last minute change of plan side trips. As I type this, I'm snuggled on the couch at our ski house in VERMONT chillin' like a villain. Vermont!? That wasn't exactly part of the the PITTSBURGH game plan, but on our drive home back to Boston, a big bright light bulb went off in his head, and he picked up the NY thruway and detoured into the mountains for a night. Being here is one of my most favorite places in the country. Surrounded by mountains, snow and being slope side with a fireplace and a warm bed is definitely worth a small detour, I only wish I had my gear so that I can make a few runs tomorrow. 

via
I hope that everyone had an amazing and blessed Thanksgiving filled with good food and great company!

Stocking Stuffer Ideas!

Hey Tuesday! Taking part in the second week of this three week series to share with you great stocking stuffer ideas! Last week I shared a few of my favorite things, and next week I'll be sharing fun gifts for friends and family that are under $100!

For the ladies!
Buffalo Plaid Scarf

Layered and Long Gold Bar Necklace

Swiftly Headband

Ear buds

M.A.C. Brushes

For the gents!
Personalized Wine Key

Omega Watch

Travel Kit

Buffalo Plaid Night Pants

Extra Phone Charger

Any other stocking stuffer ideas, Please share!
Hopefully everyone is prepared for Thanksgiving, and ready to pack on the pounds! 

Hello, Friday.

Hey Friday! You came quickly!   L's family is flying in from Ohio today for a fun weekend of visits! Coming from the midwest, they're not too into the city scene, and will be heading up to North Conway to play in that wonderful and amazing town over the weekend! Everybody loves North Conway.  

 via   This week wasn't very eventful at all. at all. As I browse through my photo album, one of the more eventful activities this week was the reproduction of this amazing throwback snack! Dunkaroo dip! I really, really needed something to quench my sweet tooth hunger yesterday, and this incredibly easy snack was the perfect fit!  

  I sent some bears swimming in a pool of raspberry vodka dreams last night. They're currently hanging ten in the refrigerator soaking up every last ounce and looking fairly plump!   

  Besides a little photo shoot of the cat (which I'll spare everyone from - except for one magazine worthy shot)... that's about everything that I have documented in the nifty iPhone for this week. PA-THE-TIC. I know.  

model material. #crazycatlady   In other news, I came across this chic console table. I love the patchwork and the simplicity of it. Maybe one day when I have more floor space I can fill my place with fun stuff like this!  

  I know I already shared with you my Christmas list, but how fun is this hello apparel sweatshirt. I love how they paired it with buffalo check leggings!  

  I spoke with the owner of the store where I will be buying my Christmas tree, and he said that he will have them out the day after Thanksgiving! Whew! Don't you just love how I end up gearing every post towards Christmas? I can't help it!  

via   Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!   Also featured on the blog this week: 2014 Christmas List Dunkaroo Dip

Dunkaroo Dip

 I found myself craving some good 'ole dunkaroo dip today, so I took it upon myself to whip up a batch of this fun throwback snack!  

  It's as simple as it gets.   1 box Funfetti cake mix 1.5 cups of vanilla yogurt 2 cups of whipped cream   If you have a major sweet tooth like myself, throw in a teaspoon or two of vanilla!  

Typically, you would use the 8 oz. container of cool whip that you can pick up in a grocery store, however I had one heck of a time trying to find a place that sold that in the North End... so fancy canned whipped cream just had to do!

Mix everything together, let cool for a little while in your fridge... and then chow down using your favorite cookie!

  Enjoy!